Windguard for automobiles



Sept. 1, 1931.

R. C. WALL WINDGUARD FOR AUTOMOBILES Filed April l2, 1950 /Pobeff c.wa//f 0Min/v1 ey.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ROBERT c. WALL, oE 1 HIr. DELrHiA,PENNSYLVANIA WINDGUAED EOE AUTOMOBILES I kApplication led April 12,1930. Serial No. 443,656.

The object of my inventionris to provide the flexible connecting deviceafter being an automobile having side glass wind deapplied to thewindguard. Y lectors hinged to the wind shield frame, The body 2 ofthecar is the open or with special means yieldingly connecting the phaetontype 'having low side vdoors 3,

5 said deflectors with the side doors in such a hinged' at their forwardends as at 4, 4. As 50 manner that the deflectois swing with thelHpFOVGIHQIlS tre the Sallie On each Side of respective doors, so thatthey are automatithe car,it will suflice to describe those at one callymoved out of the way of side door enside only. trances whenever thedoors are opened, and Above the door 3 and of a width substan- 10 swinginto shielding position when the doors tlally'that 0f the do-or is aglass windguard are Closed having a surrounding metal frame 6 which Morespecifically, my invention embodies 1S hinged al? TES, OlYI'd Portion tothe side special improvements in the connecting pOStSOf the Windshield 5as indicated at 8, means between the side wind deflectors and the hingebeing preferably of the character .'i the respective side doors, thesame comprislIlOWh as a plano hinge. however, do 60 ing flexibleconnecting devices adapted to be 11915 llmlt 111ySe-lf 'C0 any.Pil-Ftlclllll typ@ 0iE bent upon and over the upper side portionshinge. The. axis of the hinge 8 is in general of the side doors wherebythe same are Vhgned pOSltlOn Wlth the vhinges 4,4, of the steadied andall loose rattling avoided. Sld@ dOOI 32 but morespecilically the wind-Lfi In the preferred form of my invention, shield post is slightlyinclined backward and 65 the axes of the hinges on the side door and theguard hinge 8 is likewise arranged 0n of the side deiiector are out ofalignment Sad lIIChIIQ. This Causes the axis of the and hence the sidedoor and deflector shift guard 11mg@ 8 'C0 1i@ at 2111 angle 'GO'.lSheXS their relative movement and the connection 0f '611% dQOI hinges 4, 4,and consequently 25 between them is removed from the hinges tolleCeSSltalSlIlg the Sld@ Windgllalds t0 SWHg TO the free ends of boththe side doors and deilbOll Sad IlCllIled hinges and Cause thegenlectors, said connecting means comprising a eral P13118 Ojf the guardto' assume an inyielding device which presses down upon the CreaslngH1C1111a-t1011 21S the d'OQ and guqld upper portion of the side door andholds the SWmg 1D ,Olelmg about than TQSPQCW@ 30 side shield tightlydown upon the upper rim hmges. n 1 -r thereof and iny that mannersteadies the de- It Wm b? further Seen fOmFlgS- Qimd 3 flector duringthe running of the machine. 'thai the Wmdguards .flared downwardly at Myinvention also comprehends Certain thelr rea? ends and du? Cause? thelower edge improvements in the connecting Ymeans, of the Wmdgmd to HS@durmg the Opemng which together with the association of parts movenenton ,lle "licor guafrd and re" S0 enumerated, are'moie `fully describedhere- Verse y @ausw e Owel e ge o the Wma' m. guard to descend as thedoor and guard are mole' pmtlculally pomted out m being closed so thatwhen fully closed, the

guard has drawn the flexible connecting de- Regelung to th? drawlngs? F1g. l 1S a Std@ vice 9 downward and with a downward aresse eievation ofa motor car embodying my in- Sme directly pon the upper Surface of theveiitioii; Fig. 2 is a plan View of a portion door 3 as Shown in Figs. 3and 4 This Opera- Of the Same 'Baken On 1in@ 3*?) 0f Fg- 2; tionvprovides a construction which holds the Fig. 3 is a vertical sectionalView of the windguard irmly and at the same time prossaineg Fig. 4 is aside view of one form of vides a yielding union which prevents any 00undue vibration or rattling of the windguard when the door is closed andthe automobile in motion.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 1, it will be seen that the flexibleconnecting device 9 comprises an inner helical spring 13 surrounded witha rubber sheath 14 and with the spring connected to a flange head 10provided with a shank 1Q fitting into the coil spring, said head havingan angular socket portion which is shaped to receive the lower frame 6of the windguard. rIhe other end o1' the flexible device 9 is connectedto a bracket 15 having a socket portion into which the spring and rubbercovering is received and also provided with a flange 17 at right anglesto said socket portion for attachment to the inside of the door by meansof a screw or bolt as shown at 18 in Fig. 3. The socket portion 15 ispreferably provided with a coarse screwlike device 16 which extendsthrough the socket portion and up into the coil spring, the interior ofthe latter constituting in effect an internal screw thread into whichthe screw-like device 16 enters for gripping and holding the flexibledevice firmly to the bracket. This de vice when unattached wouldpreferably be straight in form but when attached to the windshield anddoor, it will assume a curved condition as more fully indicated in Fig.3 and will at all `times tend to hold the windguard in proper relationto the side door of the vehicle.

Vhile I have shown in Fig. 4 the flexible connecting device as having acoil spring core, it will be understood that this coil spring may beomitted and the rubber casing made either solid or with very thick wallsas indicated in Fig. 3*. I prefer5 however, that the connection betweenthebracket 15 and the head 10 shall be of a metallic nature to preventactual severance at any time.

It will now be apparent that I have devised a novel and usefulconstruction which embodies the feature of advantage enumerated 'asdesirable, and while I have in the present instance shown and describedthe preferred embodiment thereof which has been found in practice togive satisfactory and reliable results, it is to be understood that I donot restrict myself to the details as the same are susceptible ofmodification in various particulars, without departing from the spiritor scope of the invention.

lhat I claim is:

1. The combination in an automobile of a side door thereof with awindguard hinged to the automobile in general alignment with theposition of the hinge of the door andv normally positioned above thedoor on an independent hinge having an axis at an angle to the axisofthe door so that the windguard and door may be simultaneously swunginto open and closed positions and a mechanical connection between thewindguard and the side door arranged at a distance from the hinge pointsthereof, said connection comprising a flexible link connected to thedoor on the inside and extending upwardly and over the upper partof thedoor to a point outside thereof and mechanically connected thereat tothe lower part of the windguard so as to hold it spaced from the door,said link providing a universally flexible attachment between the doorand windguard whereby they both may be opened and closed whileconnected.

2. The invention according to claim 1, wherein further, the flexiblelink connection between the door and the windshield is formed of aflexible body7 part positively connected at its opposite ends with thedoor and windguard, said flexible body part constituting a springflexibly and yieldingly curved outwardly overl the upper portion of thedoor upon which it frictiorially presses.

8. The invention according to claim 1, wherein further, the flexiblelink connection has its body part formed of a helically coiled spri ghaving its lower part attached to the door and its upper part extendedlaterally over the door and connected to the lower part of thewindguard, the spring action of the fiexible link acting to bend overand frictionally bind upon the door by the action of the windguard.

4L. The invention according to claim 1, wherein further, the flexiblelink connection has its body part formed of a helically coiled springsurrounded by a rubber tube and having its lower part attached to thedoor and its upper part extended laterally over the upper edge of thedoor and rigidly connected to the lower part of the windguard wherebythe' latter in swinging about its own axis causes the flexible link tobe pressed downward and bent over the upper edge of the door.

5. r'he invention according to claim 1, wherein further, the flexiblelink connection includes a heavy tubular rubberbody extending verticallyand laterally from the inside of the door and forcibly bent over thetop.y of the same and attached to the bottom of the windguard.

6. The invention `according to claim 1, wherein further, the hinge ofthe windguard is hinged in general alignment with the forward hinged endof the door but has its axis at an angle witl the hinge axis of the doorso that the windguard swings outward and upward while the hinged doorswings horizontally in substantially the same plane and the fiexiblelink connection between the said guard and door embodies elasticitysutlicient to maintain an operative connection between the two parts toat all times control the windguard by the opening and closing ofv thehinged door. V

7. The invention according to claim l,

wherein further, the windguard is arranged outside of a vertical planecoincident with the plane of the door and wherein also the flexible linkconnection between the inside of the door and the bottom of theWindguard is pressed downward over and upon the upper edge of the dooradjacent to its connection with the windguard to perform the dualfunction of moving the windguard When necessary and also acting as abuer to support the windguard against objectionable Vibrations duringthe running of the automobile.

In testimony of which invention, I hereunto set my hand.

ROBERT C. WALL.

